Awards & Halls of Fame John Wayne hosting the 1965 Western Heritage Awards at the Skirvin Hotel, Oklahoma City Through its three Halls of Fame, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum honors and memorializes the men and women who have through their exemplary lives, careers, and achievements embodied and perpetuated the heritage of the American West. Every inductee, whether a real cowboy in the Hall of Great Westerners, a “reel” cowboy in the Hall of Great Western Performers, or a rodeo cowboy in the Rodeo Hall of Fame, perpetuates and enriches facets of this Western heritage. By honoring them, the Museum, in a sense, provides a generational continuity with the past, present and future and bears witness to an evolving American West. Featured Products End of the Trail Bronze by James Earle Fraser End of the Trail has endured to become one of the most recognizable images in the United States. Cast Replica Bronze Blend Statue, mounted on a marble base. Made in Oklahoma, USA.

Medium- 14″ H x 11.5″ W x 6″ D $850.00 DRC > Museum History A Concise History of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum In 1948, Chester Arthur Reynolds (1887-1958) was so impressed with the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma that the experience prompted him to ask the question, why not build a Hall of Fame honoring cowboys, cattlemen, and ranchers. The question set the planning in motion. On July 20, 1953, Reynolds formally announced that he would invite governors of the seventeen western states, prominent cattlemen, and leaders in the sport of rodeo to serve on the Board of Trustees of a "shrine" to be called the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum. On June 28, 1960 the Board of Trustees would change the name to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center. This change was made ostensibly by the Board "to better explain the purposes of the organization originally planned by Mr.

Reynolds." During January 20-21, 1955 the Board's first organizational meeting was held and a site selection committee was formed to narrow the field of 46 cities desiring the museum. By March three finalists were selected: Dodge City, Kansas; Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 16, 1955, the Board met in the conference room of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver and, after two ballots, Oklahoma City was voted as the site. An "idea" meeting was held at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City on September 28, 1955. On November 11, 1955 the 37-acre site on Persimmon Hill, donated by Oklahoma City, was dedicated with Will Rogers, Jr. as the master of ceremonies. A dedication banquet was held at the Biltmore Hotel in Oklahoma City. So, November 11, 1955 is the official dedication date of the Museum. In 1956 Governor Raymond Gary mounted a fund-raising drive to raise $1 million for the Hall and by April 22, three-fourths of that amount had been raised.

By February 22, 1957 an architectural competition was underway with the approval of the committee on architectural competitions of the American Institute of Architects. Among the competition guidelines presented were that the building should "strive to encourage the interest in the cowboy as epitomizing some of the finer qualities of the American citizen...Though the cowboy's existence as such was relatively short-lived, his is an era that is almost unique in American history and one which is deserving in perpetuation." On August 5, 1957 the United States Congress recognized the Hall through a Senate Resolution (No. 32) "as a memorial to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the opening and development of the West." On January 7, 1958 ground breaking ceremonies occurred coincident with the national convention of the American National Cattlemen's Association. Chester A. Reynolds greeted those gathered and Governor Raymond Gary and Allen Street (the mayor of Oklahoma City) made the presentation. Ruby Nance and his Rodeo Band provided the music.

The architectural design of Jack Begrow and Jack Brown of Birmingham, Michigan for the 70,000-square-foot museum had won the competition over 257 architects from 39 states. Construction began, but soon the man with the vision, Chester A. Reynolds, died on December 11, 1958. By 1962 the construction had halted due to lack of finances. To complete the Hall, arrangements were made with the Oklahoma City Industrial and Cultural Facilities Trust to sell $1.2 million in bonds on August 24, 1964 causing the Trustees to give up title to the building and the land. (Title to the buildings and the land was regained on July 1, 1972). On June 26, 1965 the Hall was opened at a cost of $2.5 million with Dean Fenton Krakel, hired in November 1964, as the Hall's first Executive Director. By the mid-1980s, the Hall was suffering from diminishing revenues and its leadership was called into question.

By March 1, 1985 the Board of Trustees demoted Dean Krakel to Curator and then Paul Strabaugh was appointed Director. In May the Hall went into receivership with first Chancellor E. T. Dunlap then Governor Henry Bellmon acting as receivers. In June 1986 the court appointed John C. Andrews the Hall's final receiver. On January 1, 1987 B. Byron Price began his ten-year tenure as Executive Director which ended on December 1, 1996. By the summer of 1992 the museum joined eight other museums in a consortium called "Museums West." Also in 1992 the "Visions of the West" $35 million capital campaign was launched with the desire to triple the museum's size and programming by 1995 increasing the size to over 230,000 total square feet. On October 15, 1993 President George Bush formally dedicated the expansion site.

Dates to remember: June 21, 1994: James Earle Fraser's "End of the Trail" moved to present location in the glass pavilion Autumn 1994: Hollis Williford's Sculpture, "Welcome Sundown" at museum's entrance November 9, 1994: Sam Noble Special Events Center dedicated June 9, 1995: Robert L. and Grace F. Eldridge Gallery dedicated - 2,200 square feet November 21, 1995: Gerald Balciar's "Canyon Princess" officially unveiled Summer 1996: The Museum had a presence on the Internet through the International Museum of the Horse September 21, 1996: Arthur and Shifra Silberman Gallery opened October 19, 1996: Children's Cowboy Corral opened November 8, 1996: Wilson Hurley's five triptychs "Windows on the West" are dedicated at Sam Noble Special Events Center November 1997: Norma Sutherland Garden and William S.

& Ann Atherton Garden open Summer 1997: Nona Jean Hulsey Rumsey Art Education Center opened September 1997: Research Center (later named the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center) opened November 18, 1997: Dub & Mozelle Richardson Theater dedicated April 4, 1998: Glenna Goodacre's "After the Ride" Ronald Reagan sculpture unveiled Autumn 1998: Dining on Persimmon Hill restaurant opened January 16, 1999: "The Year of the Cowboy" launched September 11, 1999: First annual Traditional Cowboy Arts Association exhibition and sale November 19, 2002: Blair Buswell's "Will Penny" Charlton Heston bronze unveiled May 31, 2006: The Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection acquired June 9, 2006: Harold Holden's "Edward L.

Gaylord" sculpture unveiled July 28, 2007: Ed Fraughton's "John Wayne" bronze unveiled November 17, 2007: Updates of the American Cowboy Gallery through the Phil Stadtler Fund revealed In the Edward L. Gaylord Exhibition Wing (28,000 square feet): September 10, 1999: The American Cowboy Gallery, The American Rodeo Gallery, & Prosperity Junction opened April 28, 2000: The Joe Grandee Museum of the Frontier West opened October 19, 2000: The Joe Grandee Museum of the Frontier West and the Native American Gallery dedicated April 2002: The Weitzenhoffer Gallery of Fine American Firearms dedicated April 12, 2003: The Western Performers Gallery opened On July 24, 2000, after a two year process, the museum achieved AAM accreditation and in November the museum's board of directors approved changing the museum's name from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Executive Director Ken W.

Townsend explained that the institution had evolved from a Hall of Fame and Heritage Center to an acclaimed art and historical museum: "We want the name of the facility to fully encompass the story it tells." Before the end of 2000, the museum launched a campaign to raise $100 million for its endowment. Coincidentally with the accreditation process, the museum's first long range plan was completed in 1999 and was reexamined and revised over the course of several years. Having begun his tenure as Executive Director on January 15, 1997, Ken Townsend died on August 8, 2001. Between August 9, 2001 and March 3, 2002 Martin C. Dickinson served as interim director until Charles P. Schroeder assumed the position on March 4. In April 2003 a long range plan for 2003-2005, was shepherded by executive director Chuck Schroeder and a team of staff members. The Board of Directors established a Long Range Planning Committee to monitor the progress of the Plan.

Between 2001 and 2004 a $500,000 endowment was achieved to support the collecting, preservation, and access activities associated with the A. Keith Brodkin Contemporary Western Artists Project. The project is managed by the Dickinson Research Center which had its beginnings in 1997. In February 2003 the Rodeo Historical Society Oral History Project was initiated and designed to collect, through recorded interviews, the biographies and stories of rodeo cowboys and cowgirls nationwide. These interviews are preserved and made available to authors, historians, and other interested persons in the Dickinson Research Center. During the 2003 summer a book publication program/series called "The Western Legacies Series" evolved and was implemented between the museum and the University of Oklahoma Press. Published in 2005, the first book in this series was about the museum and titled A Western Legacy: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Drafted in October 2003, the museum's first collections plan guides the content and development of the museum’s collections, leads the staff in a coordinated and uniform direction over a period of years to refine and expand the value of the collections in a predetermined way, and helps the Museum seek to gain intellectual control over collections and to ensure that it has appropriate staff and resources for collections care. The plan had its genesis following the attendance by two staff members of a collections planning colloquium sponsored by the AAM and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. in November 2002. A museum-wide conservation survey was conducted by a group of three outside assessors in June 2004. The three conservators were asked to examine the building and collections to help provide information for long term planning for improvement of the building as a preservation environment for the collections. Their February 2005 report sought to aid the institution in improving collections care, development of a long-range preservation plan, increasing staff awareness of collections preservation concerns, and improving environmental conditions in the building envelope.

To deal with a recognized museum funding crisis, the April 2005 Development plan provided an overview of the reasons and priorities for community support development and listed three priorities to accomplish fiscal solvency. The problem is stated in one sentence of the plan, "One of the other challenges that the Museum faces is that as a prominent and important community resource it has done little over its existence to develop a strong and broad base of support in the Oklahoma City greater metropolitan area." Drafted in May 2006, the current long range plan for 2006-2008 was based primarily on the results of a year-long study of the Museum's strengths and weaknesses conducted under the auspices of the American Association of Museums' Museum Assessment Program. The museum inaugurated an annual art event in November 2006 called Small Works, Great Wonder Winter Art Sale hosted by the Persimmon Hill Associates, a local Museum volunteer support organization. The social event is a benefit for the museum and represents an opportunity for beginning and experienced collectors to purchase smaller, more affordable works of original Western and Native American art.

In an initial effort to better determine and understand our audience, in March 2007 a statewide image and awareness study was conducted by means of a general population telephone survey whose sample was split into audience and non-audience groups. The executive summary, reported to the Board of Directors on April 18, 2007, stated that "overall, results are positive and the outlook is promising" for the museum. By Charles E. Rand DRC > History A Concise History of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center The history of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center is in part a history of its parent institution, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (nee National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center). The museum history provides the context for describing the evolution of the Center. In 1948 Chester Arthur Reynolds (1887-1958) was so impressed with the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma, that the experience prompted him to ask the question: Why not build a Hall of Fame honoring cowboys, cattlemen, and ranchers? The question set the planning in motion.

On July 20, 1953, Reynolds formally announced that he would invite governors of the seventeen western states, prominent cattlemen, and leaders in the sport of rodeo to serve on the Board of Trustees of a "shrine" to be called the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum. On June 28, 1960, the Board of Trustees would change the name to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center. This change was made ostensibly by the Board "to better explain the purposes of the organization originally planned by Mr. Reynolds." During January 20-21, 1955, the Board's first organizational meeting was held and a site selection committee was formed to narrow the field of 46 cities desiring the museum. By March, three finalists were selected: Dodge City, Kansas; Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 16, 1955, the Board met in the conference room of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver and, after two ballots, Oklahoma City was voted as the site.

On November 11, 1955, the 37-acre site on Persimmon Hill donated by Oklahoma City was dedicated with Will Rogers, Jr. as the master of ceremonies. It is interesting to learn that Reynolds had an interest in a library early on as a component of the Hall. In a February 11, 1956 letter to Glenn Faris, Executive Secretary of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce (later becoming the Executive Vice President of the Board), Reynolds refers Faris to an article about the United States Congress making it possible for the Truman and Eisenhower presidential libraries to become field branches of the National Archives. Reynolds writes, "When our Shrine is completed we may find that we also qualify as a Field Branch of the Natl. Archives Assn. We certainly should have a big library and have a separate [sic] room to house it." In 1956, Governor Raymond Gary mounted a fund-raising drive to raise $1 million for the Hall and by April 22, three-fourths of that amount had been raised. By February 1957 an architectural competition was underway with the approval of the committee on architectural competitions of the American Institute of Architects.

Among the competition guidelines presented were that the building should "strive to encourage the interest in the cowboy as epitomizing some of the finer qualities of the American citizen...Though the cowboy's existence as such was relatively short-lived, his is an era that is almost unique in American history and one which is deserving in perpetuation." The February 22, 1957, competition guidelines also address the issue of a library. Accordingly, the library should include reading, browsing and research space and a small work space located for control for one librarian. The guidelines read, "It is not expected that this shall become a large library but rather a carefully selected collection available particularly to scholars and research workers. No allocation of space has been given this element in first construction. It is contemplated that acquisitions for the library may be housed in a portion of the museum until future funds make the more complete library possible." On August 5, 1957, the United States Congress recognized the Hall through Senate Resolution "as a memorial to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the opening and development of the West." On January 7, 1958, ground breaking ceremonies occurred coincident with the national convention of the American National Cattlemen's Association.

The architectural design of Jack Begrow and Jack Brown of Birmingham, Michigan, had won the competition over 257 architects from 39 states. By 1962 the construction had halted due to lack of finances. To complete the Hall, arrangements were made with the Oklahoma City Industrial and Cultural Facilities Trust to sell $1.2 million in bonds on August 24, 1964, causing the Trustees to give up title to the building and the land. Title to the buildings and the land was regained on July 1, 1972. On June 26, 1965, the Hall was opened. Dean Fenton Krakel, hired in November 1964, became the Hall's first Executive Director. Formerly a librarian at the Oklahoma Historical Society and a University of Oklahoma graduate, Mrs. Dorothy Williams became the Hall's first librarian for the "Research Library of Western Americana." It was the aspiration of Williams for this library, as a research source and a component of the Western Heritage Center, to "bridge the gap for scholars, researchers and writers of the West's unique past and heritage will be recognized." The library contained more than a thousand volumes.

These numbers were increasing through donations and purchases. Williams stated, "We want anything pertaining to origins, cattle, agriculture, brands or people, whether it's manuscripts, maps, diaries, books or letters. If we are to be unique, I'd like to see it be in cattle brand books." From the early publicity literature a mission and some goals for this library can be discerned. One such piece reads, "This library [Research Library of Western Americana] will contain a most complete collection of Western literature and information on the history of the West. It should become the mecca of students and researchers who wish to obtain information concerning the life of the American West. It will be a repository for papers from famous Western ranches, have a complete file of Western brand records and other valuable information having to do with the development of the Western states. Scores of people throughout the country who have collections of rare western books will want to leave them to some library as a memorial. With imaginative planning we should be able to attract some of these collections to our library." While Williams began a handwritten library accession register on March 25, 1965, entries were often sporadic and inconsistent. There was no formal acquisition policy.

Having been a volunteer librarian since the fall of 1967, Esther Long joined the staff as cataloger and acting librarian in February 1968. It is likely Williams resigned at this time. A graduate of State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Long had received a teaching certificate in library science from Central State College in Edmond, Oklahoma. By April, Long was actively soliciting for books, and by November 1969, Long reported that "generous gifts of funds, book collections and individual volumes have swelled the shrine's library to 3,500 volumes." Under the editorship of Don Hedgpeth, the Hall's magazine, Persimmon Hill, was launched with the summer 1970 issue. Esther Long is listed as editorial assistant and served as associate editor between 1972 and 1976. During this time she was acting in two roles, editor and librarian. In 1973 Long is noted as "Librarian at the Hall" and "an authority on Western Americana." She retired in 1979. During the 1960s the library acquired through gifts the substantial libraries of Gerald J.

McIntosh, Josephine Freede, Dora Aydelotte, Bishop W. Angie Smith, James Earle Fraser, and Ellsworth Collings. During the 1970s the library was gifted with the libraries of Walter Brennan, Orval R. Withers, John Wayne, Jesse Hooper Hill, Jacob S. Payton, H. Violet Sturgeon, Frederick L. Grillo, and Eula E. Fullerton. Throughout this period as well, the library received each year the entries and winners of the Western Heritage Awards. This tradition continues currently. By the mid-1980s a cadre of museum volunteers assumed the tasks of accessioning, classifying, and shelving books. They also maintained subject vertical files. The only significant library acquired through gift during this decade was that of Jasper D. Ackerman in 1982. The Hall was suffering from diminishing revenues and its leadership was called into question. By March 1, 1985, the Board of Trustees demoted Dean Krakel to Curator and then Paul Strabaugh was appointed Director. In May the Hall went into receivership with first Chancellor E. T. Dunlap then Governor Henry Bellmon acting as receivers.

In June 1986, the court appointed John C. Andrews the Hall's final receiver. On January 1, 1987, B. Byron Price began his ten-year stint as Executive Director. In 1992, the "Visions of the West" $35 million capital campaign was launched with the desire to triple the museum's size and programming by 1995. In the planning, about 5,275 square feet was allocated to a library. While care of the library still remained in the hands of volunteers, several significant collections were acquired. They include the libraries of Nolie Mumey, Arthur & Shifra Silberman, Frank Harding, and W. D. Grisso. By mid-May 1997, the Research Center, comprised of a closed stacks library, archival repository, and reading room, was operating and formally staffed by Assistant Librarian, Jerri Stone, who had a Masters degree in English, but no formal training in librarianship. Stone reported to the Assistant Director of the Hall, Bobby Weaver, in his role as Director of the Center for the Study of the Western Experience.

This Center was an umbrella program incorporating research, education, and exhibitions. From September 1, 1997 to January of 2010, Charles E. Rand was Director of the Research Center. Rand, with an ALA accredited Masters of Library Science, directed efforts inward during the first two years calling it "a period of self-assessment, planning and inventory." In December 1998, Kenneth W. Townsend, the Executive Director since January 15, 1997, requested Rand to create a plan for the next five years (2000-2004), which would position the Research Center as a national resource. On January 29, 1999, that plan was presented and included seven goals related to four programmatic initiatives: collection development/collection management, reference/research services, education/outreach, and planning & administration. By March 1999, the Center became known formally as the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center. In April 2000, library catalog data were converted to a MARC format and automated through the Winnebago Spectrum software from Sagebrush Corporation.

The newly redesigned museum web site went live and included a significant presence by the Research Center. The museum became a member of the Research Libraries Group whose membership was open to any nonprofit institution with an educational, cultural, or scientific mission and a stake in sharing the responsibility of supporting research in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. By April 15, 2003, the Center's MARC records were uploaded to the Research Libraries Group's Union Catalog database. Along with the substantial funding from the Dickinson Foundation, the goal of expanding, enhancing, and making available the library and archival collections received a boost through the funding and implementation of the A. Keith Brodkin Contemporary Western Artists Project formalized in February 2001. This project facilitates the achievement of the Center's goal to preserve, expand, enhance and make available collections related to western art. It provides future artists, art historians, educators, and researchers with primary resources. These resources, which are often overlooked and lost to posterity, include the personal papers, studio ephemera, photographs, and other items that reflect both the life and career of an artist. Additional resources are acquired through personal oral histories captured by recorded interviews. Effectively, this project preserves artists' careers for posterity.

The Rodeo Historical Society Oral History project was initiated in February 2003. This project collects, through recorded interviews, the biographies and stories of rodeo cowboys and cowgirls nationwide. These interviews are preserved and made available to authors, historians, and other interested persons in the Research Center. In July 2003, discussion began with the University of Oklahoma Press about launching a publication series called "The Western Legacies Series." The Museum and the University of Oklahoma Press finalized this series agreement on January 15, 2004. The series will consist of works on western culture germane to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, such as biographies, directories, material-culture monographs, art histories, photo essays, and corporate histories. The first volume in the series A Western Legacy: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum was published in 2005. The second volume Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo was published in the fall of 2010. In October 2004, the Center purchased the services of Inmagic to develop a web-based database incorporating record information about and images of photographs held in the Center.

In September 2005, the Image Archive was accessible to on-line users. A major portion of the database has always been dedicated to cowboy and rodeo imagery. In 1979 the Ralph R. Doubleday was acquired, and in 1991 an access database was created for each negative. Through a National Endowment for the Humanities grant the negatives were scanned in May 2000. Another Rodeo photography collection is the DeVere Helfrich Photographic Collection comprising 37,369 negatives and fourteen log books, dating between 1941 and 1970, listing the negative number, title of image, the location/rodeo venue and date, and darkroom processing notes. These negatives were scanned in the early 2000s. The third largest collection of rodeo negatives came from Bern Gregory in 1999, followed by Ferrell Butler in 2013. Scanning of both of these collections is on-going.

In February 2005, the Center became a contributing member of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and by April the Center's bibliographic records were uploaded to OCLC making the Center's holdings searchable through WorldCat. In March 2006 the Research Center implemented a parallel accessioning process with that of the museum's process. Beginning with items and collections acquired in January 2006, they will have accession numbers in the following format: RC2006.###.#. Also, in March the final three sections of the compact shelving were installed. AGent Verso library management software from Auto-Graphics was implemented to replace the 8-year-old Winnebago Spectrum software in December 2008. On February 13, 2009, the Dickinson Research Center launched its fan page on Facebook and on February 20 the Center launched the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum channel on YouTube. Gerrianne Schaad, Librarian and Certified Archivist, joined the staff of the Dickinson Research Center as the new director in June of 2010, and continues the good work of her predecessor.

Since 2012 the Center has a presence on History Pin and Instagram in addition to the other social media outlets. The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center's mission is to preserve, document, and interpret the heritage of the American West for the enrichment of the public by collecting, organizing, describing, making available and preserving library and archival materials related to: the West and its history, discovery and exploration of the West, westward movement, Native American material culture, Western and Native American fine art and artists, cowboy culture, rodeo history, frontier and pioneer life (including military, firearms, and hunting), western city and town life, ranching, and western popular culture including entertainment, cowboy music and poetry. The Center collects, preserves, and provides access to library and archival materials in support of the institution's research, educational, curatorial and exhibition activities. Second, it provides research, photographic and moving images services to scholarly and general public users. Third, it maintains institutional records. The facility consists of a reading room (1046.75 sq.ft.), closed stacks (4226.75 sq.ft.), and overflow storage (1019.50 sq.ft.). Written By Charles E.

Rand, March 1999 and Gerrianne Schaad, November 2013 TRCHF: 2015 Inductees 2015 Inductees MEN CONTESTANTS Tim "Monk" Dishman Monk’s rodeo career includes 3 trips to the NFR in 1982, 1983, and 1984. He won championships at Houston, El Paso, and a reserve champion Bareback title at San Antonio. In 1984 and 1986 he won the Texas Circuit Finals Bareback title. One of Monk’s greatest achievements has been carrying on his family’s winning tradition in the sport of rodeo. Monk resides in Beaumont with his wife Kay, son Zach and daughter Zane. John Gloor John’s goal as a bull rider was to qualify for the NFR. He achieved this goal in 1975 and 1976. His rodeo career includes an SRA All Around title and bull riding championships at Fort Smith, Ardmore, and Stephenville. He has placed at numerous rodeos including: Calgary, Cheyenne, and Houston.

His challenge has always been to ride the unridable, including Jim Shoulders’ Mighty Mouse; Cervi’s HB and General Issimo; and Gerald Smith’s Butterbean. John continues to enjoy the sport of rodeo in Buffalo, TX with his wife of over 40 years. Gene Lyda Gene is a roper, bareback rider and bull rider from San Antonio. He is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), and Texas Youth Rodeo Association (TYRA). Gene was state and national high school bull riding champion (1966), NIRA Southwest Region Champion (1968); runner-up, NIRA World Champion Bull Rider (1968); and National Finals Rodeo (NFR) runner-up (1969). Gene represents Texas in rodeo at its best. Bud Munroe Bud is a national champion saddle bronc rider from Lewistown, Montana. He placed in the NFR for twelve consecutive years (1977-1988), with eight finishes among the top five in the world.

He was second in the world championship standings (1978, 1980) before claiming the gold buckle for World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider in 1986. Bud won the NIRA saddle bronc title in 1975 and was second in the all-around. He has been inducted into the PRCA Hall of Fame, Montana Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and Montana State University Athletic Hall of Fame, and has won Texas Circuit Finals many times. He has served in many positions within the PRCA over the past thirty-four years and is a long-time committee member of the Heart O’ Texas Rodeo in Waco. Bud lives in Valley Mills, Texas, with his wife, Jimmie. Kevin Stewart Kevin Stewart has long been considered a force to be reckoned with in the calf roping and team roping. His rodeo career includes 11 consecutive NFR qualifications and 14 Texas Circuit Finals qualifications; as well as 2 Texas Circuit Finals championships and a Team Roping Average Championship at the 1993 NFR.

He has won numerous rodeos including: Prescott, Pecos twice, Cow Palace, Salinas, Oakdale, Dodge City, and Silver City. He has secured championships in several team ropings such as the George Strait Team Roping, Mike Cervi Memorial Team Roping, and the Bob Feist Invitational Team Roping. Kevin currently resides in Glen Rose, Texas. Dan Webb Dan Webb competed in calf roping, team roping, and steer wrestling in the PRCA. His rodeo career includes: 8 NFR qualifications in calf roping, 10 Texas Circuit Finals qualifications, and 2 CNFR qualifications. He won the 10th go-round at his final NFR appearance in 1986. Some of his major PRCA wins include: Pendleton; Reno; San Antonio; Dodge City; Wichita; Jackson; Medicine Hat, AB; and Edmonton, AB. Dan currently resides in Midway, Texas with his wife Lisa, son Tanner, and daughter Tacy. James Zant One of only five left-handers ever to compete in the National Finals Rodeo, James was born and raised in Harper, Texas, and began calf roping and steer wrestling at a young age.

He won the all-around buckle from the American Junior Rodeo Association in steer wrestling and calf roping in 1980, and was NIRA Champion Calf Roper and average winner in 1982. James went on to become PRCA 1983 Rookie of the Year for calf roping. He was a NFR qualifier in 1987-1988, 1990, and 1995; qualified fourteen times for the circuit; won the Texas Circuit championship in 1983 and 1995; and was Houston champion in 1988. James lives in Shiner, Texas. WOMEN CONTESTANTS Sherry Johnson Sherry’s competition in rodeo has spanned four decades. She won the All-Around title for the AJRA in 1955 and 1956. She won the barrel racing title for five consecutive years. At the first NFR in 1959, she carried a flag during the grand entry in Dallas.

In 1961, she won the All-Around Championship in the GRA and in 1962, she was the GRA World Champion Barrel Racer riding her famous horse, Red. Sherry qualified for the NFR 12 times. During her career, she won every major rodeo in Texas. RODEO PERSONNEL CONTESTANTS Shelly Burmeister-Mowery Shelly is one of the nation’s leading female television rodeo sportscasters and cutting horse breeders. She created the Coors Miss Rodeo program in 1980 and served as its first spokesperson, traveling the nation year-round to promote professional rodeos in the media, and working with rodeo committees and local Coors distributors. Shelly was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame (1990) and is a recognized veteran of equine sports broadcasting. As an avid cutting horse competitor, Shelly was twice named NCHA Celebrity Cutting Champion. She and her husband own Mowery Cutting Horses and Mare Care in Weatherford.

She was awarded “Breeder of Champion” with her mare “Some Kinda Playgirl,” who produced the 1998 NCHA Open Futurity Champion, “Some Kinda Memories.” Shelly recently launched and appears on Western Lifestyles TV.com. Mike Moore Mike was “Salt” of the bullfighting team “Salt and Pepper”. He started fighting bulls in 1974 at local jackpots and high school rodeos around Central Texas. Shortly after he started, he asked his old high school buddy, Leon Coffee, to join him. Leon knew nothing about fighting bulls but was pretty funny. So they teamed up with Mike teaching Leon about fighting bulls and Leon trying to teach Mike to be funny. Which Mike says never worked. Together they worked high school and amateur rodeos for Cecil and Alford Hill, Lester Meier and Gary Townsend from 1975 through 1978. At the end of 1978 they got their PRCA cards and went to work for Tommy and Bobby Steiner. In his first year in the PRCA, Mike was selected to work the Texas Circuit Finals and was 1st runner up for the NFR.

The next year, 1980, Mike was chosen to fight bulls at the NFR in Oklahoma City with Rick Chatman and Ted Kimzey. In his career, Mike worked rodeos in Billings MT, Ft. Madison IA, Jackson MS, Kansas City MO, Montgomery AL, Calgary and Edmonton AB. He worked the first Wrangler Bull Fighting Match in Rapid City SD. Don “Little Brown Jug” Reynolds Billed as the “World’s Smallest Cowboy,” Don was in the saddle almost from the time he was out of diapers. He made his first public appearance in 1939 at age 2 at a rodeo in Eric, Oklahoma, trick riding and roping, and went on to travel the U.S./Canadian circuit with his dad. In 1943, Don was competing in roping, bulldogging, bareback bronc riding, and bull riding at Madison Square Gardens in New York when Roy Rogers recruited him for the movies. At age 7, he appeared in his first movie, “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” starring Rogers. He was the last actor to play “Little Beaver” in the Red Ryder movies.

Don’s father taught him to train animals for rodeos, movies and television. Most recently, he trained “Shadowfax,” the beautiful white horse in the movie, “Lord of the Rings.” Don lives in Bowie, Texas. J. W. Stoker Dubbed “King of the Cowboy Trick Ropers,” J.W. began his career in 1939 at age nine, trick riding and roping for Clyde Miller and his Rodeo and Wild West Show in Overland Park, Kansas. He performed for seventy-five years in scores of rodeos nationwide, appeared on a Wheaties cereal box, and roped in three western movies. J.W. entertained troops during the Korean War; promoted Texas and the rodeo internationally, including performing for the Queen of England; performed at the Rose Bowl Parade; and rode in the inaugural parade of President Harry Truman. He is an inductee in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame, and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. J.W. still teaches roping and trick riding, and trains the Cowgirl Chicks rodeo entertainment team. He has lived in Weatherford, Texas, since 1969.

Charlie Tindol Charlie began working as a pick-up man at amateur rodeos at the ripe old age of sixteen. Since then, he has obtained his PRCA gold card for picking up at rodeos across the country, including ten years in Albuquerque, Austin, Denver, Houston, San Angelo, and San Antonio, as well as the Texas Circuit Finals and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Charlie is an accomplished horseman and cowboy, and a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association. He has worked the job of pick-up man for fifty years and is still doing the job well. Charlie lives in San Angelo. TRAILBLAZERS CONTESTANTS Ron Conaster Ron has competed saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf roping and bull riding in PRCA rodeos since 1965. He was a PRCA judge for rodeos in Denver, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, as well as pick-up man for the Winston Rodeo Scoreboards (1977-1988). Ron worked the National Rodeo Finals for many years as a saddle horseman for timed events and gateman on the chutes.

Over the years, he has judged, been pick-up man, and competed in running stock contractor outfits for more than twenty-five different stock contractors. Ron literally raised his family on the rodeo circuits. He lives in Trinity, Texas, where he still works the PRCA rodeo and has for the past twenty-one years. Morris Walker At the age of 15, Morris Walker started competing in High School Rodeos always winning his share of roping events. In 1961 he entered the calf roping at the Amphi-theater in Chicago winning both go rounds plus the average. In 1962 joined the Rodeo Cowboy Association. This Cotulla, TX cowboy entered his first RCA rodeo, the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and won the second go round and the calf roping championship. The next months, he continued to win and place and competed at the NFR. He placed at Cheyenne, Enid, Colorado Springs, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Houston, Mercedes, Fort Smith, Pendelton, Odgen and Salt Lake. He was a SRA Champion. Morris Walker lives on his ranch in South Texas.

His peers say that he was born a cowboy, lives his life a cowboy and will die a cowboy. Don Workman Don is a champion bull rider, bareback rider, saddle bronc rider, bull-dogger from Olton, Texas. The list of rodeo titles he has won are, literally, too numerous to mention. From 1955 to 1961, Don won more than fifty individual rodeos and championships in his chosen events at local and regional rodeos throughout Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. His titles include 1955 American Junior Rodeo Association (AJRA) World Champion Bareback Rider, 1955 AJRA World Champion Bull Rider, and 1958 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Champion Bull Rider. He was voted a NIRA Lifetime Member in 2012. Throughout his career, Don has actively served his community and promoted rodeo throughout the state of Texas. He lives in Lubbock. DECEASED CONTESTANTS David Bowen Born near Houston in Yocham, Texas, David developed a love of rodeo at a young age.

He joined the Texas Youth Rodeo Association (TYRA) and the Texas High School Rodeo Association (THSRA) in the late 70s and made the finals in both for four consecutive years, 1978-1981. From 1979 to 1985, David won numerous TYRA and THSRA calf roping and all-around championships. He was named PRCA Calf Roping Rookie of the Year in 1986, the year he joined the organization. In 1989, he went to the National Finals, where he won sixth place in the world standings. He also made the circuit finals for several years up to 1989. In 1990, On July 2, 1990, David was killed when the small, twin-engine plane in which he was riding crashed into Mount Rainier, Washington, killing him, the pilot, and three other PRCA cowboys aboard. Dick Griffith Born into a five-generation rodeo family, Dick hailed from Fort Worth, Texas.

He was a four-time world champion bull rider, winning in successive years from 1939 to 1942, and an international champion trick rider. Dick was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1984 and into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1989. He passed away in 1984. Dr. T. K. Hardy, DVM Dr. Hardy’s love for roping was second only to his love of family. Known to his friends as “Doc” or “Podnah,” he was actively involved in team roping and steer roping for more than thirty years and was proud to be one of the original members of the Senior Steer Roping Association. He was a fixture at events like Windy Ryon Memorial Roping, San Angelo Roping Fiesta, Ben Johnson Memorial Roping, and OS Ranch Steer Roping, and any other roping event he could find time to attend. Doc may not have been a world champion or a qualifier to the National Finals, but he probably had more fans and friends than anyone who ever roped steers.

In addition, he kept many contestants’ horses competing through his knowledge and dedication to rodeo and the equine industry. RODEO ANIMALS CONTESTANTS Star Plauditt (Red) Sherry Johnson bought Red when the Oklahoma Star was 8 years old. His bloodlines showed promise, so Sherry trained Red for six weeks around the barrel pattern and entered him at Denver, Colorado. She never placed below second until a hit barrel in the short round. During the Cheyenne Frontier Days, Red competed back-to-back as a barrel-racing horse at one end of the arena and a steer-wrestling horse at the other. His consistency and endurance was incredible. The only horse to ever win dual world championships, Red was 1962 World Steer Wrestling Champion and 1962 World Barrel Racing Champion. Sherry retired Red as a rodeo legend at the age of 18.  Preserving Rodeo History  Honoring Rodeo Achievement  Cowboy Town USA - Oakdale, California, CA Oakdale Cowboy Capital of the World To many people, Oakdale in Stanislaus County, CA, is known as a gateway to Yosemite Valley and the site of the Hershey Chocolate Factory.

But those in cowboy circles know it's really where you go to find the world's best rodeo stars. This is a community unique unto itself. It is a town where rodeo history runs deep. Just look at the old cowboy hats and diesel trucks in town. You can't help but be reminded of exactly why Oakdale earned the title of Cowboy Capitol of the World. A Place where Rodeo Stars hang their Hats Ranchers and cowboys alike, left their horses at home on Wednesday, April 9 as they were busy as servers at the Second Annual Cowgirl Luncheon, hosted by the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. Pictured are: Ace Berry, Jerold Camarillo, Jim Charles, Judd McAfee, Ron and Pat Grohl, Pat Kirby, Bill Martinelli, Ted Nuce, Jim Ramont, Eric Roen, Phill Stadtler, Jim Wheatley and Vern Serpa. The town, with a population of 17,000, is home to more retired rodeo world champions than anywhere else in the country.

With the likes of Ace Berry, Harley May, Sonny Tureman, Ted Nuce and the Camarillo brothers, just to name a few, Oakdale holds some stories you could say gave the Wild West its name. Take Jim Charles, for instance. He found fame as the second man ever to ride the famous bucking bull, Tornado. He rode the horned giant in the world championship and took home the title. But he got his start bunking with a couple of other rodeo hopefuls who spent their days working for ranchers and nights dreaming of rodeo stardom. "It's just cowboy country," he admitted. For so many, that's the way it happened. It wasn't that Oakdale raised great rodeo stars; it simply raised hard-working ranchers, whose work translated into sport. Chasing down cattle meant learning how to rope ... and how to ride. And as legend has it, that's how rodeo came to be. The word itself means "the gathering of cattle," or "round up." Rodeo is still recognized, in fact, as the only sport that's born out of a lifestyle. Decades ago that lifestyle included a little friendly competition at the end of the day.

Ranchers would place bets on whose ranch-hand would best be able to bring in the herd, or most quickly rope a steer. A competition grew out of their simple game, which, these days, is big money. "I'd love to get on a bull for $10,000 or $12,000 like they do now," said Jim Charles. "Back in my time it was a couple hundred dollars. Three or four hundred was the most I'd ever won. But I was happy, boy was I happy." Many of these old-time rodeo stars still find great happiness in the business, and are thrilled to see professional bull riding and other rodeo events gain such popularity. Jerold Camarillo, who was a team roping champ with his brother Leo, now has a successful business training roping hopefuls from around the worldmall from his ranch in Oakdale. Camarillo himself, who won his first roping competition at the age of seven, still competes in old-timer rodeos, and still has quite a following. Like the others, he feels it's simply a lifestyle, and one that he's fortunate to have lived. "Yeah, this is the life," said Martinelli.

"Some of the folks out here, it's all they've ever known. Their folks rodeo'd and they go on to rodeo too. There's a lot of two and three and four generation cowboys who rodeo." Still today, many rodeo hopefuls dream of following in the footsteps of those who put Oakdale on the cowboy map, and still reside there today. The town boasts 25 world champion rodeo titles, and seven inductees into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. Phil Stadtler, Cowboy Legend In 2004 the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City recognized another famous cowboy from the region with their most prestigious award, the Chester A. Reynolds Award, given to a true "American Cowboy." Eighty-five-year-old Phil Stadtler is a cowboy legend, respected for his business smarts that equated to the trade of millions of cattle across the Mexico border, not to mention punches he traded with famous Hollywood cowboy Slim Pickens. He also made a name for himself as a bulldogger, steer wrestler and team roper. It is cowboys like Stadtler and the rest--more than a dozen others--who have truly created a gold-plated reputation for Oakdale.

It's a town whose high school is still among a select few in the country, and the only one in the state, that allows students to earn a varsity letter in rodeo. People flock there every April to attend the famous Oakdale Rodeo. The Cowboy Museum, visited by tourists the world over, sits in the old Southern Pacific railroad depot in the center of town. More information about the museum may be viewed at Credit: California Farm Bureau for article Oakdale Events

Question: In which American state capital is The National Cowboy Hall of Fame
Answer: Oklahoma City